Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary network 10 is shown to include one or more wireless network devices 20-1, 20-2, . . . , and 20-X (collectively wireless network devices 20) and/or one or more wired network devices 24-1, 24-2, . . . , and 24-Y (collectively wired network devices 24). The wireless network devices 20 wirelessly communicate data packets with an access point 30. The wired network devices 24 communicate data packets over cable, fiber or other media with a router 40. The access point 30 also communicates with the router 40. The router 40, in turn, communicates with a broadband modem 44, which communicates with a service provider 48. The service provider 48, in turn, provides access to a distributed communications network 50 such as the Internet.
Referring now to FIG. 2, an exemplary wireless network device 20 is shown. The wireless network device 20 typically includes a host 58 and a wireless network interface 60. The wireless network interface 60 typically includes a wireless physical layer device (PHY) 62, which includes a transceiver 64 including a transmitter 66 and a receiver 68. The wireless network interface 60 also includes a media access controller (MAC) 70 and/or other components (not shown).
Referring now to FIG. 3, an exemplary wired network device 24 is shown. The wired network device 24 typically includes a host 78 and a wired network interface 80. The wired network interface 80 typically includes a wired physical layer device (PHY) 82, which includes a transceiver 84 including a transmitter 86 and a receiver 88. The wireless network interface 60 also includes a media access controller (MAC) 90 and/or other components (not shown).
As described above, during use the transmitters 66 and 86 receive data that is to be transmitted on a respective medium. A supply voltage of the network interface may pose some limitations on the dynamic range of the transmitters 66 and 86 relative to voltage references that are used to supply the transmitter.
Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the transmitters 66 and 86 in FIGS. 2 and 3 typically receive a supply voltage that can swing between +Vs and −Vs. In this case, Vs is less than or equal to a supply voltage such as Vdd. However, when a transmitter signal that is to be output by the transmitter 100 has an amplitude that is higher than the voltage swing of the supply voltage, clipping may occur, for example at 110 and 112 in FIG. 5. Increasing the supply voltage tends to reduce clipping. However, increasing the supply voltage also tends to increase the power dissipation of the device.